Cezanne UV Clear Face Powder

The Japanese drugstore brand Cezanne (not related to the French painter)is one of the more affordable lines in the sea of Japanese makeup brands. Like Canmake, most of their products are around 600 yens and with base makeup cheaper than 10 bucks. Despite the affordability, it's a frequent on the cosme.com rankings and I saw them on youtube all the time. 

Last year when I saw the UV Clear Face Powder (SFP28, PA+++), I reckoned I could use something to set sunscreen and strengthen the protection. 

For something this affordable, the packaging is actually a little princessy, like some porcelain inspired collection from Jill Stuart.

There are two shades released so far (two new ones coming soon)and the lighter 01 would suit most with light-medium skin tone  (while the darker just looks a bit bronze). There is noticeable shimmer in the pan that's doesn't look glittery or greasy on the face.

The texture of the UV powder is unexpectedly fine that it sits on face with zero chalky finish. There is a slight glow and it offer a low coverage/soft blur while looking transparent. It's all I need from a base makeup minus the cakey look. While I can't say how effective is the UV protection (I never used it by itself), it certainly makes my silicone sunscreen less likely to break down. 

I don't have anything to compare it to but I suppose it's a good one. It was ranked no.1 in the face powder department on cosme.com last year. 

There is an included puff (resting on plastic sheet) but I never use it. Instead, a natural(goat) haired brush is perfect for digging and grabbing the product.

Closer look of the compact

Here is the retractable powder brush from Paul and Joe (got it on sale/otherwise it's overpriced at 34ish bucks). It's has hair that's not too smooth but not scratchy either. It blends powder better than the slippery synthetic brush and I don't need to babysit it.

Plus the chrysanthemum etching is deligh